Social Security benefits are a critical income source for many seniors, but unfortunately, some people were not getting the full amount of money they deserved.
That’s because of federal rules called the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). These rules were in place to reduce the Social Security benefits of certain workers who earned pensions from jobs where they did not pay Social Security taxes.
The Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealed both the GPO and the WEP, helping public sector workers like police, firefighters, and teachers to get the benefits they deserve. The Fairness Act was made retroactive back to 2024, allowing people to get back pay for benefits they would have received if these two laws hadn’t been in place.
This change has made a notable financial impact on many retirees. In fact, let’s take a look at how a public school teacher might fare after the changes.
How the Social Security Fairness Act gave a teacher back thousands
Many California public school teachers did not pay Social Security tax on their wages because they were instead covered by the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS). This system entitled teachers to a pension based on their salary and years of service.
So, let’s say we have a 68-year-old retired California public school teacher who is collecting a pension of $4,200 per month (a fairly standard amount for a retired teacher). The teacher’s husband has passed away, and she should have become entitled to a $1,400 per month Social Security survivor benefit on her late husband’s earnings record.
However, the Government Pension offset previously reduced spousal or survivor Social Security benefits by 2/3 of the amount of her CalSTRS pension. Since 2/3 of he $4,200 pension totals a $2,800 offset, her entire Social Security survivor benefit would have been eliminated.
Because of the fact that the pension offset no longer exists, thanks to the Social Security Fairness Act, the teacher is now entitled to the full survivor benefit. That’s $16,800 per year in extra income on an ongoing basis. Since she may have also been entitled to retroactive pay back through January 2024, she could also potentially collect an additional one-time retroactive payment.
Collecting benefits under the Social Security Fairness Act
The public school teacher in this example is just one of many people who will potentially get some significant financial help thanks to the Social Security Fairness Act. Anyone who received a pension based on work not covered by Social Security could potentially see their benefits increase.
The SSA began sending out payments on February 25, 2025, with those due additional benefits getting a one-time payment to cover the backdated benefits. More than 3.1 million payments totaling $17 billion had already been sent by July of 2025.
Most people did not, and do not, need to do anything to get their Social Security benefits. However, those who never applied for their retirement, Social Security, or survivor benefits because the offset was too high would need to submit an application to the Social Security Administration. And those who didn’t have the correct bank account on file with the SSA would also need to update their information to get the payments.
If you think you may be eligible for more benefits under this Act but you are not collecting them, you should reach out to the Social Security Administration to find out. A financial advisor can also help you to understand your eligibility for different types of Social Security benefits and can assist you in maximizing your retirement income.
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